Stairway To Heaven
by Error-Invalid-Username
Summary: [SatxRisa, 3rd Chap Up] Satoshi is having dreams of a mysterious angel, her purpose he cannot comprehend. Once Risa steps into his life, does he notice the strange ressemblance between the angel and Harada twin? Many revelations lie ahead.
1. Stage One : The Mysterious Orb

**A/N:** Let's make this straight to the point. I haven't written anything for a loooong time .. Haha, and I mean LONG time. I think that the last thing that I posted on was last summer or the winter before that, or maybe even earlier. What a sad little girl I am. ):

I've lost a lot of my writing knowledge, but hopefully it'll come back to me in the process of writing this fiction. And hopefully, some of my imagination will return to me as well. (: Sorry if this starts off really dull, folks, I'll try my best to make it up to par. I'm just trying to get my groove back! Ahaha. (:

Anyways, for those who want to know, this is Satoshi x Risa, for those of you who are familiar with my coupling taste for D.N.Angel. Haha, waaai, they're so cute together. (: Flames can be taken elsewhere, merci beaucoup. Constructive critism is much more appreciated.

I haven't watched or read any D.N.Angel since last summer, so bare with me .. This is my effort to put me back on track, writing-wise, and also D.N.Angel knowledge-wise.

WARNING: A/U. Romance, Fantasy. SATOSHI X RISA. Nothing took kinky. Same people, same personalities, different place, different time.

**SECRET:** Do you sense two different writing styles? I spy (; By the way, their personalities are a bit .. over-dramatized, if that's what you'd like to call it. Don't worry, they'll seem more normal in chapters to come. Thumbs up!

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STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN

CHAPTER ONE

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_"Hikari-kun .."_

_An unseen voice was calling him. It was sweet, almost angelic. It was as if the paroles that were coming from her were of the lyrics of an unsung melody, filling up one's heart with such a strange sensation. A feeling that was rare and pure._

_"Eughh .. Who are you?"_

_Time felt solid, unmoving, as if every breath took would make no different to the future happenings that lay ahead._

_"Come find me, Hikari-kun."_

_Hikari Satoshi found himself sprawled out against the ground, cheek brushing against it's frosty glow. He lay still for a moment, unaware of the place that he had stumbled upon. His body was weak, but his mind was rushing. He put a strong effort into moving his mouth again to make out a question that he knew that the mysterious voice would not answer._

_"Tell me, who am I speaking to? Where do I find you?"_

_Slowly, he pushed himself onto his knees, looking down upon where he lay while rubbing the side of his flustered cheek. It felt numb, a dull, sickening feeling overcoming half of his whole face. He could only touch it gently with the tips of his fingers, and slowly, they came to touch the sole of his weight._

_Pushing the rim of his glasses up towards his nose to study what was before him, he found that he was completely surrounded by ghostly enchantments layering the glass floors. They glowed and dimmed, as if the lyrics were breathing themselves, but the meaning of the mysterious scrawls were unknown. Satoshi could not recognize the origin of the language that they were written in, but he studied the precise hand that they dragged the golden pen marks. The design of the letters were completely elegant, as if a piece of art themselves, almost breathtaking._

_"Where am I ..?"_

_Beyond those words seemed to be a bottomless amount of thin, cotton clouds. As Satoshi got himself onto his feet, he could feel his stomach churning. He had a strange sensation that he was floating, high above ground which he was used to stepping upon. He took a deep breath before he took another step, but to his fascination, gravity kept him stable upon the transparent glass._

_Breathing a sign of relief, Satoshi regained his composure as he pulled down the ruffles in his shirt. It was not until then, that he realized that he was dressed in an entirely alien outfit, one that he knew he did not own himself. He was all in ebony, from head to toe, down to the soles of his leather shoes. He found that he was fitting smugly in a pair of black dress pants, accompanied by a silk-lined cuffed blouse and tie in a similar shade._

_As his bangs brushed against the top edge of his glasses, he sensed that something was amidst. He raised his arm to pluck off one of his hairs from his crown, only to realize that it was also a shade of deep, dark black. He studied it questioningly, knowing that he had only ever had it to be a shade of pale blue._

_Satoshi once again touched his face, examining if there were any other foreign objects riddling his body. As the top of his finger glided to the side of his face, he felt something ridged pasted from his ear. As histouch swept over it's design, he sensed the texture of a diamond earring. Satoshi did not even recall having a piercing his whole life._

_He felt something dangling from his wrist after this, and found a silver plated wristwatch, encrusted with diamonds around the front. He suddenly noticed that the hand that measured the second was not moving, continuously ticking back and fourth to the same second._

_"What the ..?"_

_This could have been one of the most paranoid incidents that Satoshi had ever encountered in his entire lifetime. He felt so confused, and for once, he had the strange sense of a little child, lost without a parent to guide him. Entirely bizarre._

_"Do you hear me, Hikari-kun?"_

_Satoshi arched his eyebrows as he looked around to his sides, only to find solid doors that were bolted with locks at the absence of knobs._

_"Hai .. I hear you."_

_The whole hallway that he stood in was narrow and bleak, dimly lit by lights of afluorescent shade. As his eyes rested dead ahead, it seemed as if the corridor was endless. As his focus zoomed in and outbefore of him, he caught a quick flash of light in the distance. Satoshi's heart jumped._

_"Come, find me .."_

_Unquestioningly, Satoshi began to dash across the countless amount of doors, flashing past the corner of his eyes. He could feel his arms brushed against himmetricallyin__a desperate effort to find the source of the voice that was familiar to his name. He needed to find out who was calling him, he just couldn't leave it atrest, not with determination._

_As Satoshi grew nearer and nearer, he managed to draw out a glowing orb, color much similar to the writing that riddled his entire surroundings. It shone much brighter, though, and levitated in rhythmic glory. If only he could reach it .._

_"I'm here, Hikari-kun. I'm here."_

_Satoshi leaped forwards and pulled his arm out in an effort to touch the orb. As he soaredforward for what seemed like an eternity, he found himself resting still in mid-air. The hallway was dissipating around him, quickly becoming transparent to make visible the clear sky. The orb remained solid, focused, but much too far from Satoshi's grasp._

_Suddenly, Satoshi's chest leaped as he found himself falling fast. The wind was rushing through him, hitting him on all sides. He was coming closer, closer to the ground, and there was nothing he could do to stop it .. Falling faster, faster .._

An ear-splitting screech stunned Satoshi's brain into conscience. The alarm clock continued to scream until, at last, the boy dragged out his lazy arm to hit the snooze button. He lay awake, staring at the ceiling with sleepy eyes. _What was that,_ he thought, trying to remember the happening thatquick-started his mind only moments ago. _A dream?_

As Satoshi rolled onto his side, he studied the digitalized numbers that were displayed on his alarm clock. 7:30. Almost time to get ready for school. As he covered his mouth to stifle a yawn, he blinked wearily up at the ceiling once more. He felt a weird sense of deja-vu. _Wasn't I falling?_

Satoshi stretched his arms out and swung his legs over the side of his bed, fitting his feet into a pair of fuzzy, cotton-like slippers. They reminded him of the clouds that floated gracefully in his dream. He grabbed his bathrobe that was hanging from a hook against the wall and swung it over him, tightening the rope at the waist. Dragging his feet against the floor, heheaded towards the washroom, getting ready for another _eventful_ day at school.

&&&.

"Hiwatari-kun, watch out!"

Too late. Satoshi, who was _innocently _sitting on a bench, reading an _innocent _book on dream philosophy, was about to be** _violently _**attacked. He was in the middle of minding his own business _until_ an unidentified flying object came swooping in behind him, catching him off guard.

The boomerang hit him square in the back of the head, and all that could be heard was the loud clap of the wooden blade striking Satoshi's skull. Dare we say, the impact was numbing.

Satoshi bent forwards, a disgruntled look of pain made obvious on his face. He reached his hand to the back of his cranium, rubbing it deeply, trying to pat away the throbbing of the blood pumping through his brain.

"Boy, do you look sour!" Harada Risa ran up to him from the centre of the field, looking slightly embarrassed and sheepish. She leaned down in front of him, trying to catch a glimpse of the look in his eye, whether it was jokingly thankful or completely outraged. She hoped that it wasn't the latter, if any at all.

Satoshi slowly regained his composure and ceased the rubbing motion against the back of his head. He looked up at Risa with an unreadable expression, the girl looking back at him questioningly. They stood there for quite some time, not mouthing a word, awaiting for someone to make the first move.

Risa, being a brave and naive child, could not hesitant any longer. "Are you alright, Hiwatari-kun?"

"..."

Ouch. Silence.

Risa arched her eyebrows in disdain. "Did you hear me? Are you alright, Hiwatari-kun?"

"..."

Still no go.

Risa wasbeginning to look irritated, a vein pumping through her skull. An emotionally displeased look became her new best friend. "HIWATARI-KUN, are you listening? I SAID, are you alright!"

Satoshi's expression remained unmoved. His voice remained calm and quiet, although quite frank. "No need to yell, Harada-san."

She sighed heavily, holding the top of her head with the side of her hand. "You don't need topretend to actdeaf, you know."

"Sorry, I was thinking." Satoshi could find no better excuse for the long silence that delayed his communications. Maybe it was that harsh blow to his head that stalled the progression of his thoughts and actions, or maybe there was another reason that he just couldn't think of at the moment.

"Geez, from all that nagging, I think my head hurts more than yours now," Risa complained while she pouted, giving Satoshi a 'I-don't-like-your-attitude' look. Satoshi averted his eyes away from her. Risa, in turn, looked completely exasperated. "Well, anyways, are you okay now?"

"Seems so," Satoshi answered as he looked back down at his book, licking the tip of his finger. He set the finger against the thin page of the novel, turning to the next. As a few moments passed, he could still feel the presence of Risa standing in front of him and looked at her from the corner of his eyes. "I appreciate that you're acting as my shade, but don't you have somewhere else to be?"

"Hiwatari-kun!" Risa gasped, looking as if the words that he had just proclaimed wounded her emotionally. She lifted her clenched hands up to underneath her mouth, staring at Satoshi with glossy eyes. "Why must yoube so rude!"

"Rude?" His voice remained cool and questioning. He leaned back against the bench and let his arms hang against the top of it, giving an 'I-don't-really-care' aura. Satoshi stared at Risa, waiting for her to give an answer, seeming unmoved by the emotional display that was suppose to make him break down. Bad luck for her that he wasn't the type of guy to fall for thosedirty littletricks.

"You don't even appreciate my company, do you?" Risa's voice went quiet and light, sounding like one of a child. She closed her eyes and seemed as if she was holding in sobs, her chest heaving inwards and out. "Really, I'm just trying to be nice .."

As she covered her head, her hands pulled away to reveal a completely ecstatic drawing on her face. It even came down to her eyes that were smiling gleefully. Satoshi sensed that she had brainstormed an idea to make them even, and indeed, his prediction was correct. Risa replied in a sing-song voice, "You know what you should do? Walk me to my locker!"

Satoshi felt dumbfounded. Simply, if there was one thing that he could never understand, next to his dreams, it would be the female species. "Why must I walk you? You can easily do that yourself."

Uh oh, Risa looked irritated once again. Her eyes looked fiery and a menacing frown formed across her mouth, her hands on her hips, much like a mother's posture. "Hurumph! I don't like your attitude, Hiwatari-kun. You know what? You owe me!"

"What on earth do I owe you for?" Inside, Satoshi felt like his stomach was bubbling, which he expected was from the annoyance he had to restrain. He was aware that Risa could, at times, get on his nerves, but he never knew that it wouldn't become such a strongpeak that would make his stomach do back flips. Or, wait, wasn't it bubbling just a second ago? He had a feeling nausea would take over soon.

"You owe me for .." Risa paused mid-sentence, her expressionfaulting, somewhat. This made Satoshi feel the least bit better. Never lower your guard. ".. For being a big meanie! After all, didn't I come all the way here just to make sure that you're okay? See, I'm a good person! Now please, will you come with me?"

Satoshi gave Risa a blank stare, as if he was contemplating whether to cooperate with her or not. His outcome? Beep, beep beep .. Negative. Satoshi was always one to play hard to get. His eyes focused back downwards on his book, and his eyes began darting across the pages once again. "Your mentality is working the wrong way.I believe that youowe _me_ forknocking my head in. You could've quite possibly inflicted brain damage on me."

Risa's fist was shaking, and she closed her eyes, trying to hold in her aggression. Unforunately, she couldn't keep it in any longer. That was quick.

Shamelessly, she grabbed for Satoshi's arm and once again caught him off guard. She pulled him upwards, and started dragging him towards the school doors. Risa had a surprising amount of strength for a girl her age. "If you don't listen to me, I _will_ cause some damage up there!"

Satoshi's eyes widened a bit as he stumbled to follow Risa's angry footsteps, looking back at the bench to where his book lay, the pages crumpled up as it faced pages down against the wooden cradle. "But my book .."

Risa looked back at Satoshi, giving him an annoyed look, but also gave the sense that she was truly amused. "Book this, book that! Give it up, Hiwatari-kun, you're coming with me!"

&&&.

Satoshi walked lowly beside the cheerful Risa as they passed by many familiar faces in the halls of their high school. The common whisper passed by Satoshi's ear, the recognizable tune of gossip that he knew he wouldn't be able to live down for a long while. He questioned himself as to why people quickly assume things they don't know nothing about.

As they finally got to Risa's locker, Satoshi awaited beside her, leaning against the closed ones beside of her and quickly recognized the perplexed mask that Risa had put on. Satoshi observed her closely as she easily unhooked the lock off of the door, but struggled to open it. She tugged on it hesitantly, but it wouldn't budge an inch. Risa pushed her feet against the sole of the locker and tried pulling it open with all her power, breaking into a sweat. Satoshi could sense the irritation beginning to show in Risa's posture, and couldn't help but chuckle.

Risa looked up at him curiously, looking like a lost infant. She genuinely did look like she was having an exercise, simply from trying to open her locker door. Her eyes went doe. "Why are you laughing?"

"Oh, nothing." Satoshi placed his hands into his pockets and shook his head, grinning widely for the first time throughout the whole day. He was thankful that, for him,Risa could resort to some of amusement from time to time, even with the simplest things that she did. There was a certain charm about her that allured many men, and Satoshi could somewhatrecognize that.

"Hiwatari-kun! You're not making this any easier!" Risa started pouting again and put her arms across her heaving chest, giving up on her earlier efforts. "It's not budging!"

Satoshi sighed deeply and lifted himself off the locker with the heel of his foot. As he straightened the cuffs on his shirt, he motioned for Risa to move aside as he took over the lock.He grabbed a hold of the mouth of the door where he could pull it open, and tried to unbolt it. Surprisingly, it remained locked shut.

Satoshi gave a baffled look as Risa arched her eyebrows, and Satoshi tried pulling on the door more forcefully this time, but attempt after attempt, it would remain the same. He took a deep breath, looking downwards and tried summing up all of his strength and gave the door one last tug. It finally managed to latch open, but in the process, the metal face of the locker hit Satoshi square in the forehead.

He stumbled backwards, trying to catch his breath for the second time. He cradled his forehead between his fingers and arched his eyebrows ungratefully. _Why me?_

Risa looked at Satoshi sympathetically. "Poor Hiwatari-kun .. Are you alright?"

Satoshi rubbed against his temple and looked at her blankly, although still pained. Not a word came from his mouth.

Risa tilted her head. "No, really Hiwatari-kun, are you okay?"

"..."

Risa gave an extremely annoyed look. Not this again. "Hiwatari-kun, earth to Hiwatari-kun?"

"..."

She sighed and slammed her locker door shut, grabbing his arm again, already beginning to drag him against the floor. "Geez, just take me to class!"

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**END CHAPTER ONE.**

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**A/N:** Sorry of this is lame and of it isn't much of a cliffhanger. I know that some people may be wondering what the whole first deal is about, but I think it will make more sense later on, so just keep on reading, alright? (: Haha, sorry that I changed writing styles in the middle of the whole thing .. I tried doing that on purpose. I wanted the whole 'dream sequence' to have a very surrealistic feel, and for the rest of the story to be more of a light, comedy mood. Like? Review, review, review!


	2. Stage Two : The Unspoken Statue

**A/N:** Next chapter up. Eugh, I didn't really like where the first chapter was going, so hopefully you guys don't feel misguided by the rest of the story. Trying to get everyone more in character. Review if you like - there's more to come. (:

Auggggh I want Satoshi to sound more sexy. I do, I do, I do. X(

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own D.N.Angel or it's characters. Done deal.

**SYNOPSIS:** Satoshi x Risa. Romance & fantasy. Takes place in somewhat of an alternate universe where Dark and Krad do not exist. Satoshi gets a strange dream, and suddenly, he finds odd traits in Risa .. ? Sappy warning. Big plans for this story. (;

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STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN

**CHAPTER TWO**

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Once again, Satoshi found himself absorbed mindlessly, almost numbingly, with the words coming from his teacher's mouth. He had the strange capability of keeping his focus on one isolated object or being for tremendous lengths of time. Unflinching.

He had no need to pay attention to the actual words that were coming from her, however, mainly because he _far_ from needed the knowledge that high school offered him.

In reality, it should've been Satoshi teaching the class instead of Shinohana-sensei. His intelligence far surpassed the great majority of everyone in the building, if not all, but to this fact he didn't pay much attention to. He was simply set on getting the lesson plan over and done with so that he could stride home and find a peace that only silence could offer.

Solitude was a friend that he could always rely on in his time of need. It was always there when you called upon it, the only thing that it could ever ask for in return was you and you alone. Quite simple as that.

To his left, two seats ahead, he could feel the presence of a girlish giggle that made his eyebrow quirk. For once in that whole entire class, his eyes adverted away from the teacher to the quiet laughter that turned out to be coming from Risa herself. _Not her again._

It was bad enough that she had to drag him around everywhere that day, but what made it even worse was that she shared the majority of her subjects with him. She was, after all, in the same homeroom as Satoshi. _What a blessed misfortune_, he weeped.

He found himself, unconsciously, analyzing the girl from a safe distance. Far enough that she wouldn't inflict any bodilyharm that would dilute any patience that Satoshi had left or change his current percetion of her. He wearily held onto the thin strand of tolerance that he had for the girl, but as he watched her from afar, she seemed a lot less like a savage beast than he imagined. She seemed almost _human_, a lot more gentle and a heck of a lot more approachable that she, in reality,was. But not quite real enough that she could be someone Satoshi would actually bother paying attention to. He didn't have much of an interest in girls, anyways.

Besides, this was Harada Risa he was debating over. One of the school's more superficial airheads, a girl that cared only about her looks and reputation. He could never understand how such a personality could make someone so popular, nor could he care less about it. A lot of the attention that she caught was mostly from shallow boys that wanted to be with her, or desperate girls that wanted to be _like_ her. Either way, she held a lot of power over the student body, she may as well could've ran for the president of the council. Although, she probably wouldn't of earned Satoshi's vote.

He didn't have anything against her, _yet._ There might of been the occasional irritation here and there, but those would quickly fade into a common indifference that he had for all the people around him.

But as he studied her in all her of her blissful, innocent glory, there was something about her that he found almost angelic. He couldn't pinpoint what made him decipher such a meaning from a simple glance, but the longer that he watched, the harder it was for him to get that idea out of his mind.

_Snap out of it, Satoshi._

The school bell rang, buzzing through his brain as the rest of his thoughts were drowned out by the stampede of footsteps that made their way out of the class. So much for peaceful scrutiny.

&&&.

Satoshi had waited for the mob that crowded the hallways to die down before he made his way to his locker. There were only a few students left, filling up their bags with homework, band instruments, alcohol, drugs, whatever be the case. Satoshi was thankful that teenagers were so keen on leaving the school grounds at dismissal, or else he would've never been able to step out of his classroom.

As he made his way to his locker, he noticed that Risa was once again having troubles opening her locker. He sighed to himself inwardly, _Not again_. This girl and her predicaments were quite troublesome, but he had no choice but to deal with them because Risa had already acknowledged his presence. No time to escape. "Hiwatari-kun! Mouu! I need your help!"

He looked at her lowly, icy blue eyes staring at her with a contempt for his bad luck that he blamed on her alone. Satoshi adjusted the bridge of his glasses to his nose and responded in an apathetic tone. "I can't help you."

Risa looked at him like a deer caught in headlights, as her struggled to open her locker died down to a silence. She arched her eyebrows and pursed her lips tightly, placing her hands over the sides of her hips. "Why not? You helped me before!"

Satoshi blinked vacantly at her. He wasn't going to fall for that trick again. "I don't trust your locker."

He could sense a tantrum coming on, reading Risa as easily as a toddler's learning book about the alphabet. Her actions were so predictable, in most cases, mainly because she didn't put much of an effort to hide her personality and quirky traits. Firstly, you'd notice the persistent person that she was. She would do anything it takes to get what she wanted, and she wouldn't stop trying until she reaches her goal. You could almost admire her keen determination.

Opposed to Satoshi's previous calculations, Risa instead sighed deeply as she leaned against her locker, letting her back drag herself to the floor. She pulled her knees close to her and looked lost for a moment, confused, as if she was a child who's candy had been stolen from. There was some sort of pain that was hidden behind those toffee chocolate eyes of hers, and there was more to her actions than Satoshi had primarily believed.

Satoshi was wrong about Risa : that was a first.

He had the strong urge to barrage her with his own set of questions, inquiring such details as, "Is there anything bothering you?" "If not, do you want to talk about it?" "Is there anything that I can do to lightened your mood?", and any other questions that could relate to the situation at hand. But no, anything of the sort was strongly out of character for his icy exterior. He showed little emotion towards her, not only now, but in general. He hoped that that wouldn't change.

Satoshi resolved to a simple silence that filled up the air and spit it back out, all over again in a rotating motion.

Risa shook her head scornfully as she massaged her temple. "Today's just not my day."

Satoshi set on the task to allow his intense stare to linger on, prying through her like a hot knife through butter. It was strange how one single look could do so much. He wasn't expected to speak a word, and a whole story would come pouring out of her mouth at any minute.

This time, he was right about her. Risa sighed woefully as she began to ramble on about how 'miserable' her day had been. She simply broke down and went all out, spilling her guts out. "First thing in the morning, I run out of conditioner, and now my hair feels like hay. When I tried curling it with my iron, the plug breaks off and I'm left with a half-done do. By the time that whole mess was over, I found out how late I was going to be for school, so I had to run to the subway station to be able to catch the train. By the time I got to school, my make-up was ruined and I looked like a clown! And to make it even worse, I forgot to bring my project for science, which I _had_ to have first period, and he took off 25 percent of my mark for being one day late! At lunch, there wasn't any room for me at my regular table, so I had to end up sitting with Riku-chan and Daisuke-kun, and don't let me _begin _to tell you how awkward that was. I even burned my mashed potatoes in cooking today .. I mean, honestly, who burns mashed potatoes? I really don't know what's wrong with me. My locker won't open, I've been missing some of my textbooks, I failed my math quiz .. And throughout the whole day, my back has been aching to no end."

Satoshi watched her intently, trying to absorb all the information that he had fed her in such a short amount of time. And he thought that _he_ was having a bad day, what with the boomerang and the locker incidents, but he was proved wrong. It seemed like he had the habit of underestimating the Harada twin. "A detailed enlightenment, Harada-san."

Risa turned her head weakly to the other side to face him, looking at him half-heartedly. She seemed exhausted with herself. "Look, I'm sorry for acting so moody today. You seemed to handle the bad luck for me, even though it was just for a while. I want to thank you for that. I think I just need some time to relax and get away from all of this."

He didn't know if he should've took what Risa had announced as a compliment or as a subtle insult within itself. Satoshi doubted the latter, simply because Harada Risa wasn't quite cleaver enough to have an ulterior motive to her verbalizations. This, however, could change in a quick instance if he let his guard down, which he seemed to do so often, lately. He had to be more cautious around her from now on, just for safe measures. She was, after all, probably the only person that was carrying more bad luck on their shoulder that he had that day. "It's alright. I didn't notice."

Risa pulled herself together and up to her feet, giving a careless look towards her locker. "Forget it, I'm not gonna do my homework for tonight. There's no use."

"If it helps, I can take you out for a walk. It might ease your mind on things." Satoshi did not understand why he was being so generous towards her. In general, he did not show much charity towards others completely, but today seemed different for him. He wasn't sure if it was because the sense was knocked out of him by the boomerang or the locker or not, but he didn't mind a little fresh air himself. Oh my, what's gotten into him?

"You know, I'd like that." Risa tilted her head and smiled sheepishly, a curious glint flashing across her eyes. The light that shone against them was somewhat golden, a shade that he was familiar with, only he could not pinpoint to where. In his dream, perhaps? Or simply his imagination trying to play tricks on him again. This was debateable.

For once in a long time, Satoshi didn't feel so lonely. He could get used to this, what those around him call _company. _

&&&.

Satoshi and Risa walked side-by-side through the park, a discrete hop in the Harada's step. She smiled giddily, taking in the beauty of the unique nature that the park offered. It's attraction was subtle, but there was definitely something that made that park special in it's own way. She wasn't quite sure if it was the fresh greenery, the occasionally bunny rabbit hiding behind the bushes or the frosty golden roses that lined the pathway down the trails that could explain it's charm. There were some things that could simply not be described in words, and this was one of them.

The pale, ashen blue haired boy looked at her inquisitively with calm eyes. She was so innocent, so naive and carefree. He envied that she could still act so immaturely when she was very well aware of the aging world around her. Satoshi never had the chance to be a child. He was forced to grow up much too soon.

Risa hummed a catchy tune as they continued to walk down the trail and found themselves standing in front of the center fountain. It was a cold, grey stone, marbled with a chalky white. In the middle stood a statue of a beautiful, winged angel, looking down at the people surrounding the park. A tender smile caressed its face, it's hand reaching out, almost wanting to touch and reach through your soul.

It was hauntingly reassuring, in a sense. Like a guardian angel watching over you. Satoshi attempted a glance towards it, but tried to avoid any other gaze in it's direction. Thinking about anything to do with angels made his head spin.

Risa trotted gleefully towards the fountain, watching the majestic blue water falling from the tips of the wings in awe. "Waaai .. This statue is so pretty. I can't remember the last time I've been here. It must've been ages! Don't you think she's pretty, Hiwatari-kun?"

Satoshi coughed dryly, and replied in the same tone. "I'm not too fond of inanimate objects."

Risa sighed. "You have no imagination, you know.." She looked up to study the features of the angel's face, and she found a faint familiarity. However, she wasn't entirely sure who the resemblance was related to. "Don't you think that she looks like someone?"

Satoshi studied the statue pensively. How it stung his eyes to concentrate so hard. But Satoshi had to agree with Risa, there was some likeness that the angel portrayed. His eyes slowly went from Risa to the stone figure, and for a moment, he thought that it reminded him of her. No, that couldn't be. There was something far more mysterious about the beauty that the statue revealed. Risa was a mere child, and if Satoshi knew his facts correctly, the statue had been sitting in the park for more than one hundred years. There was no comparing a century's worth of wisdom _or _beauty.

"I don't really think so," Satoshi replied almost intently, but also in a smug tone. She would never hear of the little scenario that was playing in his head.

"Hmm, me neither then, I guess." Risa pulled the finger away from her chin as she took a seat against cold cement that circled the fountain.

Satoshi approached her, hesitantly. He wasn't that keen on getting too close to the water - he didn't have any other clothes to change into. There was something about the cool liquid that nerved him.

Risa looked up at him and raised her hand to screen her eyes from the sun, squinting up towards him. "Well, if won't sit down, you might as well be useful and be my shade for once."

An irate glare bounced off of his icy blue eyes, but were soon softened by a small smirk that formed across his thin lips. He didn't know why he was so amused by her sense of humour, it wasn't much of a sense at all. It was simply Risa being herself, upfront and outspoken. But there was something adoring about it.

Risa leaned forward and dragged her hand through the water, cool and soothing against her skin. "You know what I noticed?"

Satoshi looked down at her, watching her hand sway freely in the steam. "What did you notice?"

"Yours eyes .." Risa sounded as if she were pondering out loud, more to herself than speaking directly to Satoshi. "They remind me of water."

There she goes catching him off guard again. His eyes opened up a bit, and questioned the small smile that sat on the corner of her mouth. "They remind you of the - .. ?"

"Yeah, they're cool like the steams in the summertime," Risa explained gallantly as her focus remained on the rushing fountain's tears. "And they can be icy, like the frozen pond in the winter."

Satoshi had no idea that Risa could even show signs of intensity, and her words came out as almost poetic. There really was more to the girl that he thought.

Risa's eyes softened as she looked up at Satoshi, catching a glimpse of awe in those deep blue eyes that she could've sworn came from the sea. Cool, calming and chilling, all at once. What a strange character Satoshi was to describe.

A scent breeze passed by them, all passer-bys far beyond non-existent to them in their 'little world'. The rushing air unravelled the bow that wrapped around Risa's hair, and frantically, she reached her hand out to grab it before it would get soaked by the water. She leaned in a little too forward and she began toppling over the water.

Satoshi realized this a moment too late as he rushed to try to grab her around her waist, but his efforts did no justice, because instead, it caused the both of them to fall into the fountain.

Risa splashed around like a mad dog, only to find out that the water stood beneath her shoulders as she on her hands and legs. She breathed a sigh of relief as she wiped the water out of her eyes.

Satoshi was sprawled over her, and as he noticed this, he quickly got to his feet, soaking wet like a sponge. He was quick to regain his composure. He pulled his glasses off of his face, and tried to wipe his eyes with his drenched sleeve. It was pointless, so he stuffed his glasses into his front pocket.

Looking downwards, he held his hand out to Risa. "Grab my hand," Satoshi commanded the girl almost disapprovingly. He didn't sound quite too happy about being wet.

Risa looked up at him with doe-like eyes, her whole face soaked with water, her hair a dishevelled mess as it soaked bucketsful. For once in her life, she didn't seem to care about how she looked. At that moment, the one thing that caught all her attention was, by foolish chance, Hiwatari Satoshi.

She looked up at him admiringly, thinking about how handsome he looked without his glasses on. This was the first time that Risa had ever even considered looking at Satoshi in such a way, as more than a simple classmate that she shared a room with. He seemed a lot more gentle, a lot more .. human, without his glasses cluttering his face.

"Well, are you going to take my hand or not?" Satoshi's voice interrupted her train of thought, and, judging by the irritation that oozed from his voice, she had no questions asked. Risa grabbed a hold of his gentle grasp and he pulled her up, the both of them dripping heavily.

Risa opened her mouth to say something, but quickly looked down at her hand that, for some odd reason, still seemed to be latched onto his. A rosy blush crept onto the apples of her cheeks as she quickly let go of his hand, smiling sheepishly as she tried to push away the embarrassment. Satoshi simply stared at her, questioningly.

"Uhum, let's go Hiwatari-kun," Risa singsonged as she stepped out of the fountain, Satoshi a few steps behind her. They both started forming large puddles beneath them like odd creatures from the marsh. They were getting strange looks from passer bys, but they paid no attention to the curious glances and murmurs. "My house is only a few blocks away, I can get you some dry clothes to go home in."

"Alright," Satoshi replied robotoically, and he didn't seemed to have too much disdain about the situation that he found himself in. Usually, getting wet like this would make him truly peeved, but for some reason, he felt amused. He was _enjoying_ this. More and more, he understood himself less as the hours flew by.

As the two paddled heavily away from the fountain, Satoshi took one look back at the mysterious and breath-taking angel that watched over the fountain. He turned to look at Risa, and at that moment, she seemed a lot more human and a lot less human, both at once. Today wasn't much of bad luck day, after all.

* * *

**END CHAPTER TWO.**

* * *

**A/N:** It's 6 in the morning. I have homework to be done and I'm suppose to be getting ready for school in half an hour. I finished two fanfictions and two chapters, all on Satoshi x Risa, in one day. I think I'm started to get my groove back on. d: Ahaha, yeah right, I wish. Well, anyways, hope that you liked this chapter. It's really only one scenario if you think about it, but it's pretty long and drawn out. A bit too sweet too soon? You just wait, there's some unthinkable surprise to come! .. I just haven't though of them yet. (: sweatdrop. Haha, just kidding. Lots more to come if I have some good reviews coming in! So don't forget, review, review, review! x) 


	3. Stage Three : The Angel With Wings

**Author's Note: **Woo hoo! Chalk one for the Satoshi x Risa fans! Another chappie is up and running, look out for the next instalment anytime soon -. Fan girl service coming up down there. x)

Sorry it took long for this chapter to come, I was stuck on editing (that evil demon!). It turned out to be a bit longer than I expected. Anyway, I hope that this story progresses faster than my other projects. d: Hopefully I'll be able to finish my other D.N.Angel story soon. Also, if anyone's interested, I finished three other one-shot stories which you can find under my profile called _Boxed Lunch, Arrogance _and _Can You Stand The Rain?._

Also, thanks to everyone that reviewed! You're all too sweet. I'm glad that you guys like it so far. (: And my greatest apologies to everyone that got confused with the title "A Stairway to Heaven" with the Korean drama. I can't say that I've watched that yet, but I'll be sure to see. (y) Once again, I'm sorry if I used a title that got some people confused, I never knew. The two have no connection whatsoever, I promise.

Moou, I'm so mad! I can't find the CD that had my "I'm Glad that Hiwatari-kun is With Me" chapter four on it. : GEEZ! Tantrum.

Anyways, before you start reading, I just want to inform you that the butler in my story isn't the one from the series. Sorry for the confusion. x)

_ANYWAYS .._

**SYNOPSIS:** Where were _you_ the past two chapters, huh? I kid. (: Here's the story, in a nutshell.

In the first chapter, Satoshi has a strange dream to do with, what was it, a glowing orb of light? That can speak? Now, that's unheard of! O Haha, well, anyways, he goes back to school like normal and gets hit by 1) a boomerang, thrown by Risa and 2) a locker door, owned by Risa. She drags him along to class at this point.

In chapter two, Satoshi is analyzing Risa, noticing certain things about her (if you really want to know, just read the chapter d:). After he gets out of class, he notices that Risa's feeling down with her bad luck and offers to take her to the park. While they're walking, they pass by the fountain with the statue an angel, perhaps bearing a resemblance to someone they know. As Risa attempts to save her bow, she falls into the water, Satoshi along side of her. Now, she offers Satoshi to her house for a dress change.

**Disclaimer: I do not own D.N.Angel or any of it's characters. I think everyone knows that already, but I don't want to be sued, so I do this anyways. d:**

* * *

**STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN**

**CHAPTER THREE**

* * *

Satoshi found himself on the doorstep of the Harada mansion, alongside the daughter, Risa herself. They had managed a strangely challenging walk from the park to her place, thanks to the awkward stares that had followed them home. Both were still drenched from head to toe, although some of the excess water had ceased from dripping off of their clothes, which they were quite thankful for. Strange how things worked out the way that they did, ending up in such an unusual situation at the one that they found themselves in.

His eyes scanned the properties of the building. It was clearly apparent that this family was one of wealth and they did no trouble in hiding so. Even at a simple glance, Satoshi knew that if anyone would have a house that was almost _close _to comparing to the size of the Harada's colossal manor, that alone would be something to brag about.

Setting it's appearance aside, a thought abruptly shook the sense in Satoshi's mind. He had never actually _been _inside of a girl's house before, more or less one that belonged to Harada twins. Any details such as this _typically _wouldn't have bothered him, but he had the strong urgency to leave the right impression, for any reason that he might of had. Since when did he start caring what people thought of him?

Although he was no stranger to Risa or Riku, he _was_ a stranger to basically every other thing in their lives. He had no idea of their interests, their habits, their religion or any of the matter. Even in general, he wasn't quite used to socializing with parents, family or pets. Point made, he wasn't much of an outside person at all. How was he suppose to behave under such circumstances?

Suddenly, he felt his stomach tumble like a washing machine on cold, his guts churning inside of him. He give Risa a look of uncertainty. "Do your parents mind male visitors, Harada-san?"

"Of course not!" She smiled certainly, confident against any of his doubts. Silly of him to even think that. "They let Daisuke in all the time. I really don't think they'd mind. Besides, they're coming home until the evening either way."

Satoshi gulped down the massive lump his throat, not entirely reassured or convinced. Why was he so nervous? He was suppose to keep his cool.

_Ding dong._

No more room for quick thinking. Satoshi was cursed with the misfortune of having _extremely _bad timing. It was just a knack that he had for being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Hopefully, this instance wouldn't follow that pattern, so to speak. He aspired against _all _chances that the rest of the day would run smoothly.

The kingly timber door swung ajar, only to reveal a more sturdy looking man on the other side. Judging on eye-level, Satoshi guessed that he was standing at a little over 6'10" feet tall, revealing a thick neck and beefy arms that were still perceptible, even through his thick black sleeves. His uniform immediately gave off the impression of a butler, but Satoshi never realized that they came in such a variety.

"Mademoiselle Harada-sama, nice to see that you're back home." His inexpressive, yet surprisingly welcoming face scrutinized his master with detailed inspection. He wasn't quite as thick as he appeared, because it was obvious that he wasn't blind to the state that Risa's uniform was in. The sun wasn't all that greatest at processing a quick dry for the fabrics, even in such pleasant weather.

The tone of the butler's voice altered slightly, as if he trying to clear his throat. His lifeless face cracked into the least bit of a smile. "Not entirely dry, I'm assuming."

Risa chortled nonchalantly while raking her fingers against the stern of her head. Her eyes formed into half moons as she continued to giggle nervously, her jaw bouncing up and down as her flushed cheeks went unnoticed. "Oh, no need to ask, Genki-chan. We just got ourselves into a little trouble, that's all."

'Genki-chan''s head bobbed in understanding and left no more room for questioning after that. He stepped out of the way, allowing the entrance free of obstacles so that the two couple pass. The direction of Risa's gaze sprung towards Satoshi as she headed through the doorway, expecting the boy to follow suit.

As their short line passed by the lofty figure to the side, Satoshi couldn't help but realize how ironic it was to name such an intimidating man with the childishness of _Genki_. On further analysis, Satoshi, looking up with half-lidded eyes, catching a quaintly smug grin on the man's face. He never drew to the conclusion of what _really_ went on through a butler's mind, nor did he really want to find out.

As Satoshi finally entered the house, he immediately felt the cosiness and warmth radiating from it's interior. His eyes allowed a quick inspection of the domicile, admiring the artistry that it displayed. The long, elegant and flowing stairway welcomed the house with a resemblance of open arms. Plastered on the walls were various pieces of art, estimating that their eras of birth might've been even before the cultural revolution. Masterpieces such a those alone, no matter what quality they were in, remained priceless.

One of the paintings caught his eye. As his focus transpired over the chef d'oeuvre, he realized that the painting was of a pair of two beings, one male and one female. Of the latter, a look of distress graced her pretty face as she held her miniscule fingers over her heart. To the looks of it, an ethereal man stood behind her, to her side. His head was bend downwards, unable to capture the details of his face, but all the strands of hair that lay over his head were a deep and inky black, much like the rest of his attire. The damsel seemed to be looking at the man with the sense of miserable affection, raising her hand out and almost touching his face.

"Hiwatari-kun?" Risa waved her hand in front of his vacant eyes, pulling him out of his oblivious stare. "Did something catch your eye?"

"I was just looking at that painting," Satoshi managed to apologize while giving Risa eyes full of blamelessness.

"Hm?" Risa's mouth formed an 'O' as her eyes followed the gaze where Satoshi's once was, discovering the source of his mild contemplation. Her eyes twinkled in familiarity. "Hey, now I know! The statue in the park _did_ remind me of something! It's the same girl in this painting, isn't it?"

Satoshi looked back at the canvas once more. Risa was right, it _did_ look like the figure of stone that hovered over the fountain, if not, the same woman of only a few years younger. What connection did these two pieces of artwork have? Satoshi was suddenly keen to finding out. "They appear to be the same person, by the looks of it."

Risa tilted her head, giving the portrait a glance of deliberation. "Well, that's strange." Looking back at Satoshi, she came to realization on why they were in her manor in the first place. "Oh, I almost forgot! You have to get changed."

Satoshi's gaze was unreadable. "Do you have a washroom?"

"Hai! It would be strange if I didn't," she bubbled, leading up him the stairs. The railing was cold, the frosty gold metal sending chills down Satoshi's spine. There was something strange about this mansion of hers, but he couldn't pinpoint what lead him into suspicion.

Risa escorted Satoshi to the washroom door, on which he gazed at almost questioningly. She made motions with her hand to direct him inside after she jiggled the lock free. "I'm going to grab some towels and extra clothes for you from my room. Wait here, okay Hiwatari-kun?"

As she wandered far down the hall, Satoshi held the option to enter the bathing area at his own risk. He decided that he could choose nothing else but to go in and quietly pushed the door back behind him.

The entire lavatory was adorned in spectacular shades of auburn tiles, glistening in mahogany red, all the frameworks and metals a beautiful shade of bronzed copper. It was much more spacious than most restrooms, and the layout of the area seemed to stretch from wall to wall.

Satoshi glanced at the mirror ahead of him, perfunctorily realizing that he was still without glasses. He was so accustomed to having the frames over his face that he felt strange seeing himself without them. Reaching into his breast pocket where he had last left them, he quickly discovered that there was nothing there. His neck bent down before him, examining the receptacle, realizing that he was no longer in possession of his spectacles.

He recalled that the last place that he had seen them was when Risa and himself were dredging through the fountain. He remembered slipping them into the pocket of his shirt, but they must've somehow escaped him along the way. He didn't mind too much due to the fact that it made no difference to the aptitude of his vision. He was able to see just as well without or without the bifocals, they were, in turn, an accessory. He was going to have to survive for the rest of the day without them, either way.

Satoshi dragged out the leather strap from his belt buckle to loosen the waistline of his pants. He did so that he was able to easily pull out his shirt that was neatly tugged inside, a rule that was forced upon him as a dress code. Not that it made a difference to him, he didn't take put much effort into dressing up his appearance. He always came off as flawless.

The saturated fabric clung onto his torso like wet paper. Satoshi felt a great deal of relief as he lifted the shirt over his head, ringing out any excess liquid over the bathroom sink. His skin still held and moist and dewy quality.

And before he could react, the door swung open behind him.

Risa wasn't aware that Satoshi hadn't taken the time to lock the door properly. After pulling down a hard knock from her hands that contained much more force that she had originally conceived, the wall before her swung open to reveal an exposed, shirtless Hiwatari Satoshi.

His head stirred forwards as he met her gaze. Flushing like a ripe as a tomato, Risa yelped helplessly. "WAAAH!"

She stumbled backwards into the hallway, covering her eyes as she landed on her backside. The icy marble floor did no good as support, and Risa realized that she had caused even more trouble upon herself. Her eyes refused to meet his. "I'm so sorry, Hiwatari-kun! I didn't know that you were-"

Satoshi unpretentiously stepped out of the washroom, looking down at the fallen girl. If possible, her face reddened a few more shades as she tried to turn away. He didn't notice. Ignoring her efforts to avoid the half-naked body before her, Satoshi offered his hand to her. "It's not that unusual to see boys shirtless, Harada-san, now is it?"

Risa coyly took a hold of him as he pulled her up onto her feet, quickly brushing off the back of her sodden skirt. Her stomach bubbled with clumsy laughter, trying to push away her obvious embarrassment. Her voice came out almost incoherent, a mangled jumble of words. "You're right, we _do _have swimming classes during the summer." She pushed down the back of her skirt nervously. "I'm so sorry for barging in like that, I didn't realize that the door wasn't locked."

The corners of his mouth appeared to tug, Satoshi smirking inwardly. "It's alright. If anyone,_ I_ should be embarrassed in this situation."

"Moouu.." A small sigh escaped her. As an awkward silence was exchanged, Satoshi looked down at the fabrics cradled between Risa's arms. Following his gaze, she hastily fumbled with the towel before handing it to him. "Here, you should dry up before you get a cold."

"I could only say the same to you," Satoshi commented almost warmly, a hint of concern entwined in that normally monotonous voice of his. He rubbed the towel against his head which mangled his hair in all directions.

After, he loosely set the damp cloth over his shoulders, attention grabbed by the other foreign object that still lay in Risa's grasp. "Is that for me?"

Risa held her fingers over her lips as she voiced a small giggle. "I tried looking for a shirt your size, but this is the only thing that I have that would fit you."

Satoshi's eyes widened as she stretched the garment before her in her arms. His voice was filled with uncertainty. "But .. It's pink."

She tried to hold back the valleys of laughter that were longing to escape from her mouth. Smiling sweetly, she replied, "Pink suits you well, don't you agree?"

He stared at her wordlessly. Was she really expecting him to wear such a frilly, feminine monstrosity such as this? This was pure torture within itself. He honestly wasn't going to let himself walk in public wearing _that_. He would never be able to live it down for the rest of his days. Cross dressing and masking yourself as a female was one thing, but it's a totally different matter when the people around _know_ that it's not your gender. He dreaded to deliberate of what might've happened next.

A dismissive frown made it's way to his mouth. "I can't wear that."

"You don't have to be picky, Hiwatari-kun!" Risa seemed almost _pleased_ to know of the violent debating that was going on in Satoshi's head. There was a strange satisfaction in seeing the boy in a tight spot, for once. It was nothing sinister, but amusing all the same. "Unless you want to wait for your shirt to dry, I suppose. But that might take a while."

His face broke into a sigh of relief, removing his mask that was vacant of all emotion, if only for a split second. "I think that I'd rather wait here than have to walk around while people are second guessing my sexuality."

Risa grinned gleefully from ear to ear her last efforts, attempted to shove the mould of pink before his face. "You don't want it?"

He looked at her with a odd vein of dissatisfaction. He thought that his point was proved to be clear enough. "Not really." Satoshi pushed away her hand as she smiled up at him, innocently.

"If that's really what you want, I can't force you." Risa walked past him as she pulled out the damp clothing that had dropped into sink. Glancing at Satoshi, she didn't much mind into saying, "Did you want me to take your pants too?"

Satoshi felt an odd sensation of modesty rise to his face as he gave her an awkward gaze. "I think it would make more sense if I kept these on."

"Oh, of course!" Risa laughed lightly while her cheeks flared, incredulous that she would say such a thing in the first place. She was always the one to speak before she put much thought into her intentions. Her bashful nature got to the best of her. "I never imagined otherwise, Hiwatari-kun."

&&&.

"_Hikari-kun, I've been waiting .."_

_The surroundings were all too familiar. Satoshi's eyes were entangled within the concoction of clouds that stared him in the face, which was cleverly pushed up against the glass that separated the two._

_Slowly, he gained consciousness and raised to his feet. Dusting off his cuffs, he found himself once again dressed entirely in ebony noir, a strange sense of deja-vu filtering the air. _

_The trivial hallway of forgotten doors faced him at all sides. He had no intentions on discovering what lay behind them, though, for his attention was immediately seized by the orb of light before him. It was much closer this time around, seemingly a few meters away from his grasp._

"_Who are you?"_

_His voice echoed indignantly but received no response. As his eyes focused on the manifestation before him and he quickly realized that it was no ordinary ball of light. Studying the complicated detail that it arranged on all sides, it proved to exist more human than ever._

_No longer was it simply a mysterious, levitating orb, for Satoshi was able to make out the limbs of a living being. It held its head lowly, buried into it's lap as it's arms wrapped around it's knees as it if was curled into a ball. The face was hidden, so he could not make out the features of a man or woman._

"_What are you afraid of, Hikari-kun?"_

_His eyes went dilated as he soon discovered the voice resonating from the creature before him. The scrawls breathed underneath his feet, humming him into a trance as he stood immobilized, glued in place._

"_Don't fret, Hikari-kun. I'm not going to hurt you .."_

_He could feel his heart thumping ferociously, threatening to beat out of his chest. The voice was female, he was sure of it. It's hum was sweet and gentle, songlike as it lulled him into sweet misery._

_But the question was, who was the voice, and what did she want from him? Satoshi was eager, yet simultaneously apprehensive of finding the meaning of these confusing sequences. Trying to piece the puzzle together, it made no sense at all._

_Satoshi dared to take a step forward, cautiously, careful not to provoke the unfathomable, floating being. He found it hard to breath air through his chest, attempting to approach the woman soundlessly, lurching terminally closer. He could not allow her to leave him again with questions unanswered. No, not this time._

_Movement. As quickly as a blink of an eye, the rustle of feathers dawned from the being before him, causing him to stop in his tracks. She began to stir, slowly lifting her head in a dreamy state. With her back turned, she pulled her legs out to linger beneath her, her torso arching backwards. She lifted her chin towards the sky, her naked body entangled in sinuous locks of chocolate brown that dragged beneath her knees._

_And then there was the first sight of something that he had never seen. Feathery, ashen-coloured wings much like those that belonged to a dove. They bled out of her naked back, slowly emanating to stretch out behind her as they curled inwardly. The wingspan stretched further than arm's width, making the unravelled woman seem insignificant in comparison. _

_They were gorgeous, almost virtuous, beaming an aura that words could not nearly describe. They glowed in a delicate innocence, radiating with glory, and Satoshi knew by then that they could belong to no other create than what his conclusion has drawn to. The wings of an angel._

"_I have been waiting for you for a long, lost time .."_

_She turned around to reveal herself, only to cause Satoshi to be taken aback, his breath blown away like the unsettled clouds beneath him._

_Her eyes, shimmering with flakes of golden sun, splashing in a hazel chestnut brown. Her face was soft, delicate and drew out her pretty features. Everything about her was all too familiar. But that couldn't be, for this was an angel standing before him, not a familiar face that he had grown accustomed to seeing everyday. _

_He second guessed the magnificent creature, for she did not appear to be the girl he first assumed, but something else entirely that stood out sharply in his mind. _

"_You - You're the statue. The angel from the fountain."_

_Her smile was far beyond angelic as she floated gracefully before him. Her bodily features were soft, muted, as if they had no sharpness and instead replaced with a placid blur. She bent forwards, holding her hand out before her, waiting for it's partnered hold from Satoshi._

"_Take my hand, Hikari-kun. We must save ourselves from the destiny that we have doomed ourselves upon."_

_He had no sense in what he was doing. Looking up at her with star-struck eyes, he reached out to touch her hand, longing to bask it's warmth._

_But as his skin nearly brushed up upon hers, her image suddenly dissipated in front of his eyes. As quickly as she appeared, she had just as easily materialized into thin air._

_An overwhelming feeling of misery washed of him like the blood of the black sea as he stood ghost faced, alone once more in the hallway of doors. His knees bucked, falling to the ground as his eyes died lifelessly, loosing focus on what stood beneath of him._

_Hopes, dreams, shattered. She had escaped him once again. _

_Resist the urge to scream. "What do you want from me .. ? Just tell me, what do you want from me!"_

_Satoshi clamped his eyes shut as he felt the swelling sensation threatening to escape. He forced himself not to shed one single tear, for they would be no use. No one was there to comfort his pain._

_Fate was more cruel than any form of punishment that could ever be bestowed upon a man._

_The ground splintered beneath him. _

_Rushing towards him, the chilling wind._

_Falling .._

_Falling .._

_Falling .._

&&&.

Heavy eyes eventually came to by the lamplight. There was a sudden chilliness that came over him, tickling at his feet and quickly working up his spine. It wasn't long until he realized that his body was still exposed, partially naked to the cold air surrounding him. _Hn, where am I?_

Satoshi's thoughts were hindered due to his lethargic nature, muffling a groan as he rolled onto the other side of the mattress.His hands wrinkled up into firsts beside his head, clamping them tightly in hopes of creating warmth. He shivered. _I must've fallen asleep .._

His eyes slowly fluttered awake as he lazily focused his half-lidded stare towards the facing window. The sky had brushed over in a screen of opaque, sapphire blue. Timid stars daring to show themselves, yet proved no competition to the full, radiant moon. They waltzed endlessly in front of him.

It was only then that he realized that it was no longer the heat of the day, but far too much in the evening than he had aspired. What was he still doing at the Harada mansion?

Behind him, a tall leathery door creaked open unknowingly. The clamour was subtle, and thanks to Satoshi's low blood pressure, it was going to be a full half hour until he entirely aware of what was passing around him. For this reason, he didn't pay much attention to the scratching that rung in and out of his ears.

As the unexpected visitor caught sight of the unclad boy, the rest that followed was an ear-splitting scream that would've made dogs beg on their hind legs for utter mercy. "AHHHHHHHHHHH! PERVERT, PERVERT!"

Riku was in a panic and in the gist of all things, she threw whatever she was clutching at the time hurdling Satoshi's way. This happened to be a hefty soccerball, and the 'intruder' was whacked square in the back of his head.

"Ouuww.." he groaned while rolling once over, falling off the side of bed as he did so. Hello cold, marble floor. "Unghh.."

At this point, Riku was still not aware that the identity of the 'pervert' was no other than her fellow classmate Hiwatari Satoshi. She, instead, was searching around frantically for any sort of weapon, quickly grabbing a baseball that sat in the corner of the room.

Sneakily, she approached the divan from the opposite side of where Satoshi lay, holding the large splinter of wood high above her head. She was ready to strike any moment, as soon as the 'intruder' came to. "Baka yaro, you pervert, what are you doing in my house! And what right do you have laying on my sister's bed!"

Groggily, Satoshi pushed himself to his knees and glanced squarely at Riku, still half-asleep. Riku was about to swing a fast one at him, but thankfully, she recognize the face, and not a moment too soon.

"Hi-Hiwatari-kun!" The abandoned bat rolled to the carpet beside her, hands over her mouth as she breathed steadily for air. "You scared half to death, I thought you were some sort of deranged sicko!"

It seemed as though her expressions went through one ear and went out the other. Satoshi wasn't entirely aware of the words coming out of the Harada twin's mouth, resonating to him much like the adults on Charlie Brown. (_Womp womp womp.) _"Hn?"

Riku's face went beet red with embarrassment as she bent down to pick up the baseball bat, walking back to the other side of the room to replace it on the metal stand. "What are you doing here? Risa never told me that you were here - and - and - why are you shirtless in our room at eight thirty at night? What's going on here!"

His head bobbled to the hanging clock at the front centre of the room. It was meant to resemble a black cat with freakishly wide, pallid eyes that would glance from side to side as the seconds ticked by. The tale swaggered from left to right in rhythm with the eyes, but in the opposite direction, seeming almost _realistic_ in a creepy, sickening way.

It was, indeed, well past the hour that he had originally arrived at the Harada household. At this point, he wasn't even entirely sure what he was doing there in the first place. His mind drew to a complete blank, which was unusual for the quick thinking prodigy. This was the consequence of low blood pressure, he supposed.

At that moment, Risa unfalteringly walked into the bedroom and quickly caught sight of the conscious guest. In her hands, Satoshi recognized the blouse that he had been sporting earlier that day. A welcoming smile painted onto her face as easily as a brush on blank canvas. "Hiwatari-kun, there you are! I was wondering when you were going to wake up."

"Hn?" Satoshi's neck cranked down to meet her face, and the first thing that he noticed was her changed attire. Donned in a off-white summer dress made of silky manila fabric with spaghetti thin shoulder straps, around her crown was a matching headband of the same sort. The detailed embroidery on the edges of the robe made it thoughtfully elegant. As an afterthought, the outfit hugged her in all the right places.

As Satoshi gave her the once-over, he found that it suited her well. It gave her the dewy soft appearance as if she was glowing, as if she was pulled out of the dream sequence that began to seep through his mind and thoughts.

There was a mysterious twinkle in her eyes as she approached Satoshi. With kind efforts, she handing him back his shirt. "I think that this belongs to you."

His gaze focusing down at her hands and unhurriedly took the dry chemise from her clutches. He expertly slipped it over his head and smoothly fit his arms into its sleeves as he pulled it down over his torso. After buttoning the collar, he took the time to fiddled with the cuffs until they sat _just_ at the right place. Flawlessly executed, even when he was half-conscious.

"Good as new!" Risa smiled sweetly as she gave her sister a 'look', one of which Satoshi didn't catch. Riku, in return, formed a mockingly ill smile on her face with a brisk nod in return, Satoshi's still half-dead in between them.

The dream replayed in his head as, one by one, Satoshi's senses came back to life like the functionings of a clock tower. An angel, no, not just any ordinary angel. The heavenly saint that he envisioned had the same face as the one from the park - but how could it be?

She was living, breathing, in full flesh. To his knowledge, the statue in the park was nothing _but_ a statue, a simple piece of carefully hand-crafted stone made as a contribution to the common grounds. He hadn't been informed about anything to do with the angel sculpture being _real_. Any history supporting it was unheard of.

Then again, it _was _only a dream. A reverie. It could've easily been his imagination playing mind games with him, but what set it aside was the fact that it felt too _present_ to be something as trivial as a delusion. There was just some thing about the vision that made it seem like much more than a simple manifestation of accidental thoughts. There was more to it than that.

His lethargic gaze seemed to have fixed itself, unknowingly, directly at Risa. She sensed his stare and laughed nervously, a bright pink tinge rising up in her cheeks as she waved her hand dismissively. "Uhm, Hiwatari-kun, is there something on my face?"

Satoshi's eyes widened as his mouth gaped open the least bit. He shook himself out of his daze as his face quickly replaced itself to it's normal expression, regaining his cool. He closed his eyes and shook his head intently. "No, there's nothing. I'm sorry if I gave you a false impression, I lost myself."

Risa looked apprehensive. As she knotted her fingers together behind her back, she bent forward to examine the absent look on Satoshi's face. "You lost yourself? In your thoughts, you mean."

He nodded gently as his head raised upwards towards the window, showcasing the crisp night sky. Somewhere, up there, was a hallway of broken dreams ..

"Hiwatari-kun must be hungry," Riku stated from the sidelines, interrupting his daydream that pulled him, abruptly, back into reality.

Risa nodded in concurrence. She raised her voice in what seemed to be excitement. "Don't tell me that you're not starving! You _have_ to stay for diner, I won't take no for an answer!"

His gaze shifted away from the plated glass as his eyes bounced from one of the Harada twins to the other, unsuspectingly. His mouth began to open to creature an excuse for not wanting to eat, but it was already too late.

Riku had quickly appeared behind his back, pushing him forward as Risa took the liberty of taking hold of his hands, leading him forwards. Although he put no effort into rebelling against their pushing and shoving, they dragged him out of the bedroom either way.

Risa giggled in delight. She couldn't wait. "No really, you must stay! It's my turn to cook and you've got to try my new recipe for toasted tofu! I heard that it was your _favourite_."

_Yikes._

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**END CHAPTER THREE.**

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**A/N:** Gomen nasai, sorry if I couldn't leave it off at more of a cliff hanger. --; I was at a loss of thought by the ending of this. I feel as though this story is moving really slow .. I'm sorry for the uneventfulness on the most part. What really gets me is the dialogue, I'm not the best at making these characters sound _in _character .. So please, bare with me. Also, sorry for any typos, I'm not the greatest at catching my mistakes.

Well, anyways, This chapter isn't much, but watch out for the next one. It's going to be _full_ of surprises, I promise you that. (: Or at least in the chapters after that. Or maybe the one after that. laughs evilly ) I kid. Anyways, you'll never guess what Satoshi finds out in his next dream ..

P.S. Editing is a _big_ pain in the behind. I share your pain, fellow fanfictioners around the world. I grieve for you. ;-;

_Stay tuned, because there's much more to come! Don't forget to review, why else would I be writing this story for? d:_

_**Itsumo-chan**_


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